The Mom Slanthttp://www.themomslant.com
Tue, 27 Nov 2018 04:26:56 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.3Organizing the Household: Where to Concentratehttp://www.themomslant.com/2018/10/04/organizing-the-household-where-to-concentrate/
http://www.themomslant.com/2018/10/04/organizing-the-household-where-to-concentrate/#respondThu, 04 Oct 2018 20:06:27 +0000http://www.themomslant.com/?p=6kitchen ...]]>While there are routines that hold an integral role in the organization of our home, it is not enough to only execute them for a few months. I have seen many women set up these routines with the best intentions only to halt them months later. Apparently, there are other factors that can create an impact on your household when it comes to organization. In order to reap their full benefits, you need to follow these three steps:

Step 1: Set your Goals

To establish an organized household is too vague to be considered as a goal. You need to set specific goals. For starts, making sure all the kitchen faucets are turned off.

Over the years, I have tried many sorts of goal setting approaches. Because one approach cannot fit everyone, you can try out for yourself various approaches to eventually find what suits you best. Among the many approaches, I found the creating SMART goals is highly effective.

Step 2: Set your Habits

You can only convince your family members to cooperate with your rules if you follow them as well. You need to be a role model.

According to a book I have recently read, our brain always searches for ways that save time and effort. Thus, we form habits. When left on its own, our brain will try to form any routine– good and bad. However, if you understand how habit formation works, you’ll be able to reshape your own habits to achieve fixed goals.

Step 3: Set your Routines

Now that you have formed the right habits, you can create essential routines that can help establish an organized household. These routines include:

1. Menu Planning

By planning meals, you can save energy, money, and time. In my case, I can finish a menu plan for the whole month in more or less than an hour. If we compare that to the time we spend in thinking about the meal right before lunch or dinner, it definitely costs less. Not only that; it also reduces our trips to the groceries.

2. Evening Routine

So that you don’t have to go through a bad morning, you need to sort the most time consuming things the night before. Make sure your outfit is ready. Prepare the ingredients for your breakfast. Clear the clutter in your house.

3. Morning Routine

Mornings are usually one of the busiest times of the day. Make sure you that you set a routine so that everything will go smoothly. Decide your bathroom schedules. Assign different tasks to different people. Who will cook breakfast? Who will prepare the table?

]]>http://www.themomslant.com/2018/10/04/organizing-the-household-where-to-concentrate/feed/0Creating a Family Menu Plan: How to Do Ithttp://www.themomslant.com/2018/08/19/creating-a-family-menu-plan-how-to-do-it/
http://www.themomslant.com/2018/08/19/creating-a-family-menu-plan-how-to-do-it/#respondSun, 19 Aug 2018 03:07:32 +0000http://www.themomslant.com/?p=8right kitchen knives set is essential too. Thus, it’s easier to decide on the menu. However, I usually set my menu plan for a whole month as this allows me to save more. In making my menu, I follow the following criteria:
There should be easy meals that can be prepared by somebody else in the family....]]>A monthly menu plan can help you save up to three times the amount of money, time, and energy. That is if you do it the right way. Here is how you do it:

Monthly Criteria

Some people prefer weekly menu planning the time limit is shorter, and have the right kitchen knives set is essential too. Thus, it’s easier to decide on the menu. However, I usually set my menu plan for a whole month as this allows me to save more. In making my menu, I follow the following criteria:

There should be easy meals that can be prepared by somebody else in the family.

Plan healthy yet simple dishes in order to reduce the time spent in the hot kitchen.

Allow one meal to be cooked by one of the family members every week.

Daily Theme

Being able to identify the type and schedule of the family activities each day is crucial for menu planning. I once prepared a hot dish when my husband’s was working overtime and my eldest daughter and younger son were having their late sports sessions. We got lots of leftover, and I ended up finishing them myself.

Now, I carefully take note of the activities of other members of the family. To help me set my daily theme, I use a template. On Mondays, I always prepare a meal where it can be cooked in the morning and where it just can be heated in the evening. Mondays are usually the days when I am not home until or more than 7:30 in the evening. As for Fridays, I always cook an extra amount of food so that on Saturdays, we will only eat the leftover foods. Saturday is day-off from the kitchen.

Family Input

Though I plan the menu myself, I usually ask for the opinion of other family members. Because they have their own likes and dislikes, I tend to only include four request dishes from each of them. I try to repeat a meal twice a month. I also allow them to pick one home-style fast food dishes like fries, hamburgers, or pizza once or twice a month.

Final Thoughts

If you haven’t done menu planning before, please give it a try. You should take some time to note how long it takes to procrastinate and think over what meal to prepare for the day. This is not to mention the cost of trips you make to the grocery. It’s definitely more beneficial to plan ahead of time.

]]>http://www.themomslant.com/2018/08/19/creating-a-family-menu-plan-how-to-do-it/feed/0Evening Routine: Being Prepared and Organized for the Next dayhttp://www.themomslant.com/2018/07/27/evening-routine-being-prepared-and-organized-for-the-next-day/
http://www.themomslant.com/2018/07/27/evening-routine-being-prepared-and-organized-for-the-next-day/#respondFri, 27 Jul 2018 11:08:32 +0000http://www.themomslant.com/?p=10comfortable recliner and make lunch boxes in the evening. Right now, I am only preparing lunch boxes for my youngest and 14-year-old son. My eldest daughter buys her lunch at school. Every night, I place all homemade savory treats in a container, portion out seed mix, crackers, and yogurt. After ...]]>I always consider evenings as an opportunity to prepare for the next morning because I know how crucial it is for the whole family to start the day on the bright side. Here’s what I do on a normal evening:

Setting Lunch Boxes

It is much easier to get of the comfortable recliner and make lunch boxes in the evening. Right now, I am only preparing lunch boxes for my youngest and 14-year-old son. My eldest daughter buys her lunch at school. Every night, I place all homemade savory treats in a container, portion out seed mix, crackers, and yogurt. After packing these items, I allow my children to do the selection in the fridge the following morning.

Checking the Clean and Available Uniforms

Being able to identify the scheduled activities of the family members and tracking the number of uniforms allow you to determine when you need to do the washing. In my case, I wash clothes every Wednesday and Friday. I usually start by washing clothes once my children are already off to bed.

Clearing the Bins

Emptying all four bins that we have in our home is now a household task that I have assigned to my husband and children except for my 7-year-old child. This routine includes segregation and recycling of trash.

Evening Cleaning

I have already expected my children to clean their things before heading off to sleep. My husband and I will just pick up the remaining clutter. As you see, my children tend to just make things even messier if we told them that it’s still quite dirty.

Preparing the Breakfast Table

I set out all the things need for the morning breakfast in advance. This includes the utensils, mats, and cereal boxes. I make sure juice and milk are available so that my children will just take their preferred meal out of the fridge. I just allow them to get up and serve themselves.

Beginning to Unwind

After all the preparation I need to do in the evening, there is only a little amount of time for me to relax and unwind. However, I always try to allocate some of it every time my day ends. There is the necessary exercise that I do for bone growth stimulation as I am, of course, aging. I also do some forms of meditation late in the evening. I have done it for almost four years already, and it has given me some positive results.

Final Thoughts

Organizing things in the evening can help my mornings become smoother. It allows me to have more time for myself during the day, and my family members can leave our home at the right time.

]]>http://www.themomslant.com/2018/07/27/evening-routine-being-prepared-and-organized-for-the-next-day/feed/0Disciplining Children: How to Make Them Do Tasks at Homehttp://www.themomslant.com/2018/05/10/disciplining-children-how-to-make-them-do-tasks-at-home/
http://www.themomslant.com/2018/05/10/disciplining-children-how-to-make-them-do-tasks-at-home/#respondThu, 10 May 2018 12:34:48 +0000http://www.themomslant.com/?p=12mowing the lawn or cleaning the cookware. While some of them contain valuable and useful details, I don’t agree with them a hundred percent. Since each child has ...]]>Discipline is not my strongest suit. I don’t like reprimanding people in general. However, when you become a parent, you realize that it’s essential from time to time.

If I have free time, I use it reading about parenting problems and discipline strategies. Some parents employ chores as punishment, for example, mowing the lawn or cleaning the cookware. While some of them contain valuable and useful details, I don’t agree with them a hundred percent. Since each child has different behavior and personality, there’s no perfect strategy to manage all of them. However, you can still check some of these strategies. After all, you’ll never know if it works unless you try it out yourself.

Give children enough freedom

Giving your children too many instructions at one time or asking them to do a lot of things can highly arouse disobedience. Allow your child enough freedom to perform a specific task. Also, don’t overwhelm them. Allow them to accomplish one task successfully before you assign them another one.

Make clear and positive requests

Many parents, including me, are used to giving vague requests and instructions. For instance, I ask one of my children to “stop being silly,” when I’m really asking them to stop making funny noises. I find that providing your children instructions about what you want them to do rather than what you do not want the children to do is far more effective.

Give them time to perform tasks you assign

I happened to observe that poorly timed instructions can also affect the children’s behaviors. Expecting them to follow your instructions immediately when they are focused on doing things they enjoy can only lead to disobedience. It would be better if you can give them a warning some minute ahead. For instance, when my child is watching TV, I tell her to do what I have asked her after five minutes or by the end of the show.

How our children cooperates can depend on how you deliver the instructions. When assigning them a task, you should show them that we are an ally and not an enemy. After all, your children are not really your slaves. Make sure that they understand that the tasks you give are essential in keeping the home organized.